No one else was injured, though the crash and downed power lines caused several small fires.

"It's a sad day in Smyrna," Rutherford County Mayor Ernest Burgess told reporters.

A spokesman for the U.S. Navy told BuzzFeed News the F/A-18 Hornet crashed about two miles from the runway, just after take-off at 3:01 p.m. local time. An investigation will be carried out to determine the cause of the crash.

Kuss was from Durango, Colorado and had joined the Blue Angels in September 2014. According to the Navy, he earned the Strike Flight Air Medal, the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal, and other personal and unit awards.

Before becoming a demonstration pilot with the Blue Angels, he had deployed aboard the USS Harry Truman as part of Operation Enduring Freedom.

Over his career, he made 175 arrested landings onto an aircraft carrier. He also accumulated more than 1,400 flight hours.

The Blue Angels were in the area for the Great Tennessee Air Show this weekend.